Review: The Chance by Karen Kingsbury

The day before a teenage Ellie moved from Georgia to California, she and her best friend Nolan sat beneath the Spanish moss of an ancient oak tree where they wrote letters to each other and buried them in a rusty old metal box. The plan was to return eleven years later, dig the box up, and read the letters. But now, as that date approaches, much as changed. Ellie has abandoned the faith she grew up with, her days consumed with loving her little girl and trying to make ends meet. Sometimes she watches TV to catch a glimpse of her old friend Nolan, now an NBA star, whose faith is known by the entire nation. But few know that Nolan’s own personal tragedies have fueled both his faith and athletic drive. Despite his success, Nolan is isolated and lonely, plagued by a void in his heart that has remained since that night beneath the old oak tree with Ellie. For both Ellie and Nolan, the coming date is more than just a childhood promise. It’s the chance to make sense of it all–the chance to find out if it’s ever too late to find love again.

Karen Kingsbury weave a moving tale of heart-wrenching loss, the power of faith, and the wounds that only a forever kind of love can heal. She delves deeply into a theme that resonates within us all: Hope lives for those willing to take a chance. [[ Blurb taken from inside flap of the book. ]]

First, can I say that sometimes I feel like the blurbs on the inside flap of the book or the blurb on the back of the book gives too much away? I had a hard time adding the information on the inside flap of this book, simply because it gave so much away. Are you one to read what a book is about before reading the book? I more than likely will not read about the book before reading it.

Anyway. Back to the review.

I am a huge Karen Kingsbury fan. I have read all of her books, with an exception on the last few that have come out. I am a Christian and believe in the power of God himself, as well as Prayer, so reading her books always makes me warm and fuzzy inside.

While reading the book, I debated back and forth on the rating I was going to give it. In the beginning, I thought about 4 stars, then it quickly started to go down to about 2 stars. Honestly, the only reason I thought about giving it such a low rating is because it got super slow for a while. Not much was happening, there was not a lot of answers to things, etc. However, as I kept reading, the overall rating started to go up quite a bit.

Karen writes in the way that you can FEEL what her charterers are feeling. Ellie was broken, alone and confused. That is how I felt. I felt like it was me who was moved to California from the only place I had known. I felt like it was me who had the child out of wedlock. I felt like it was me who was in love with Nolan Cook.

In this book, you felt for every character. Ellie. Nolan. Ellie’s parents, Nolan’s dad. Ellie’s daughter, Kinzie. There was so much passion, loving, caring, laughter, heartache, etc. in this story, that you felt like you were on a roller coaster ride full of emotion.

When you read this book (and you better ALL read it!) you find yourself routing for all of the characters. For Ellie to find herself again. For Nolan to win at some sort of basketball championship. You will find yourself routing for Ellie’s mom within the first few pages, hoping something good happens with her and her family.

Most of all, and probably what I enjoyed most about the book… I had no idea where the story was going, nor how it was going to end. This was probably the less predictable book I have read in a while. With each page, I had no idea what was coming next.

Even if you aren’t a believer in God, Prayer, religion, etc. I still suggest you read this book. Karen’s books aren’t overpowering. There is just enough of all of this in it for those who believe, and just enough for those who do not.

As I mentioned above, I really am only giving it 4 out of 5 stars instead of 5 out of 5 simply based on the slow part of the book. But that is no way a deal breaker on whether or not you should read it, because YES YOU SHOULD!